The Hills Were Alive in Salzburg

After a long, super fun, and jam-packed week in Rome with my mom (from now on referred to as Linda), we packed a suitcase to share and began our journey to Salzburg.

At my own fault, we accidentally got on the wrong train while trying to get to the airport and cut it pretty close boarding our plane, but we made it so it was ok!!!! We were fine in the end.

Our flight landed in Munich because we were trying to ball on a budget and flights into Salzburg were way more expensive. It also turns out that one of Linda's old friends now lives in Munich so we were able to have a great little night of catching up. Ironically, we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner, but it was really refined Italian and I had an incredible meal of saltimbocca with a few glasses of prosecco.

Munich

After our meal, we took the time to wander around Munich a bit and try some world-famous German beer, but we called it quits early in the night because of our train to Salzburg early the next day.

I'm pretty sure I've already gushed about how much I love European train travel, but this trip really solidified it for me. The scenery was straight up right out of a movie. We could have been on the Hogwarts Express for all we knew. Unfortunately we had to rush off of the train to make it to the Sound of Music bus tour we had booked.

The abbey on top of the hil

Before you judge me for booking a super touristy guided bus tour, you should know that all of the Sound of Music filming locations are very spread out around Salzburg and the surrounding towns. It was either the bus tour, or rent a car and drive ourselves. But the bus tour had sing alongs and commentary and a giant Von Trapp Family graphic painted on the side of the bus! It's also a very highly rated tour according to a multitude of travel bloggers and the oh-so-sacred TripAdvisor reviewers.

The tour was absolutely incredible.We saw everything from the house where they filmed the scenes of the Von Trapp family at home, to the gazebo (16 going on 17!), to the church where Maria and the Captain were married. Linda and I loved every second of it. The views just driving around to get to each sight were breathtaking, and called for many, many photo ops.

The 16 Going on 17 gazebo

The Sound of Music is one of mine and Linda's favorite movies, so seeing all of the infamous sights was such an amazing experience that we couldn't believe we were able to be a part of. I think we might have even teared up at some point.

The church where the Von Trapp wedding was filmed

Even with that being such a highlight, the rest of our time in Salzburg was just as amazing. As much as I love Italy, Salzburg had to be one of my favorite places I visited. Everything about the quaint streets and the German influence just took my breath away. Snow capped mountains bordered the city and looked almost fake, especially since they were set against the colorful Austrian buildings.

The best view of the area was from all the way at the top of a hill/mountain in the middle of town where the famous abbey is located. Of course we fan-girled over the abbey and its familiarities from the movie, but when we took a moment to look around, it was incredibly stunning. There are almost no words to describe it.

The Von Trapp house

We actually had quite a little mix up with our accommodations while we were there. I had booked a hotel on Expedia, but apparently there was some sort of bug/scam thing going on where I paid for a hotel but never got a confirmation email and we basically had no place to stay LOL. A few calls to Amex got us our refund on the fraudulent charge, but then we had to wander around and find a suitable hotel. We were lucky enough to find a perfect place in a great location for less than the fake hotel! Go us!

It wouldn't be a trip to a new country without indulging in some local cuisine, so obviously we spent some time trying everything we could possibly fit in our stomach. White sausages with sweet mustard, vegetarian spinach balls in butter, beef goulash, and of course tons of pretzels and beer (I'm a sucker for carbs).

On our last morning in Salzburg we wandered around the historic area, listening to our Rick Steves audio tour and learning about different little areas of the city, such as Mozart's birthplace. We had breakfast in a quaint little cafe that Mozart apparently used to frequent, and said farewell to our new favorite city.

Linda and I reluctantly headed back to Rome to say our goodbyes before she left for the States. It was sad to leave such an amazing trip (and it was sad to not see my mom for another month until I got home from abroad), but it was a trip that we will never forget, and will be reminded of any time we pop in our favorite movie.